KOTA KINABALU: The session’s court here today sentenced a man to 40 years in jail after he was found guilty on two charges of committing incest.
Judge Ainul Shahrin Mohamed also ordered the 45-year-old to be given 20 lashes.
On the first charge under Section 376 of the Penal Code for rape, the accused was found guilty of having intercourse with his daughter in Manggatal here in Dec 2015.
His daughter was only 12 years old at the time.
On the second charge under the same act, the accused was also found guilty of committing a similar offence against the victim in Feb 2016.
In meting out the sentence, Ainul ordered the accused to serve 20 years in jail and receive 10 strokes of the cane for the first charge. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison and another 10 lashes for the second offence.
Aidul ordered the first punishment to run from the day the accused was arrested, which was on April 26, 2016; while the second punishment is to run consecutively.
During mitigation, Counsel PJ Pereira said his client has no previous conviction and that this was his first offence.
He also stressed that the accused had been cooperative with police throughout his detention period.
However, prosecuting officer Chief Inspector Lim Swee Beng said that the accused had committed a horrendous crime against the victim and asked the court to mete out a stern punishment as a lesson.
"This is a very serious offence and it will leave (the victim traumatised) regardless of her age," he said.
Lim was standing in for Deputy Public Prosecutor Hafizah Zahidah Abdullah.